Band material, ring blank, orthodontic band and method of making

Abstract

An orthodontic band having a patterned surface formed with a pattern of indentations for securing the band to a tooth to enhance retention, wherein the patterned surface is formed by a metal displacement operation.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows: 
     
       1. A metal band material adapted to make ring-shaped orthodontic bands, said material being in flat sheet or strip form and of a thickness suitable for die-working, said sheet having a pattern of indentations formed on the side which becomes the inside or tooth-side surface of the band to enhance retention to a tooth, and said indentations being formed by metal displacement. 
     
     
       2. The band material of claim 1, wherein said indentations are substantially equally spaced apart. 
     
     
       3. The band material of claim 1, wherein the metal displaced indentations are formed by stamping the sheet by an indentation-forming tool. 
     
     
       4. The band material of claim 1, wherein the metal displaced indentations are formed by feeding the sheet through knurling rollers. 
     
     
       5. The band material of claim 1, wherein the indentations are polygonally shaped. 
     
     
       6. The band material of claim 1, wherein the indentations are diamond shaped. 
     
     
       7. The band material of claim 1, wherein the indentations are circular shaped. 
     
     
       8. The band material of claim 1, wherein the indentations are cone-shaped. 
     
     
       9. A metal ring blank for making a ring-shaped orthodontic band from a series of dies, said blank being circularly shaped and having a thickness suitable for an orthodontic band, the outer side of the blank being smooth and the inner side being patterned, said patterned side including a plurality of metal displaced indentations. 
     
     
       10. The ring blank of claim 9, wherein the indentations are substantially equally spaced apart. 
     
     
       11. The ring blank of claim 9, wherein the metal displaced indentations are formed by stamping the sheet by an indentation-forming tool. 
     
     
       12. The ring blank of claim 9, wherein the metal displaced indentations are formed by feeding the sheet through knurling rollers. 
     
     
       13. The ring blank of claim 9, wherein the indentations are polygonally shaped. 
     
     
       14. The ring blank of claim 9, wherein the indentations are diamond shaped. 
     
     
       15. The ring blank of claim 9, wherein the indentations are circular shaped. 
     
     
       16. The ring blank of claim 9, wherein the indentations are cone-shaped. 
     
     
       17. A seamless orthodontic band, said band including a smooth outer surface onto which an appliance may be mounted, and a patterned inner surface adapted to be cemented to a tooth, said band being die-worked from metal band material having a smooth surface on one side and a patterned surface on the other side, said patterned surface including a plurality of metal displaced indentations, whereby said patterned surface enhances the retention of the band to a tooth. 
     
     
       18. The band material of claim 17, wherein the indentations are substantially equally spaced apart. 
     
     
       19. The band material of claim 17, wherein the metal displaced indentations are formed by stamping the sheet by an indentation-forming tool. 
     
     
       20. The band material of claim 17, wherein the metal displaced indentations are formed by feeding the sheet through knurling rollers. 
     
     
       21. The band material of claim 17, wherein the indentations are polygonally shaped. 
     
     
       22. The band material of claim 17, wherein the indentations are diamond shaped. 
     
     
       23. The band material of claim 17, wherein the indentations are circular shaped. 
     
     
       24. The band material of claim 17, wherein the indentations are cone-shaped. 
     
     
       25. A method of making a metal seamless orthodontic band ring blank from a circular blank having a smooth surface on one side and a pattern of metal displaced indentations on the other side, which includes the steps of: providing a sheet of metal with smooth surfaces on both sides, subjecting one side of said sheet to a metal displacement operation to form a pattern of indentations,   cutting the sheet to form at least one circular blank,   subjecting the circular blank to a plurality of dies to die-work the blank into a hat-shaped form with the patterned surface on the inside and including an annular wall and a flat end wall, and   removing the flat end wall.   
     
     
       26. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of forming the pattern of indentations includes the step of substantially equally spacing apart the indentations. 
     
     
       27. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of metal displacement comprises stamping the sheet by an indentation-forming tool. 
     
     
       28. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of metal displacement comprises feeding the sheet through knurling rollers. 
     
     
       29. The method of claim 25, wherein the indentations are polygonally shaped. 
     
     
       30. The method of claim 25, wherein the indentations are diamond shaped. 
     
     
       31. The method of claim 25, wherein the indentations are circular shaped. 
     
     
       32. The method of claim 25, wherein the indentations are cone-shaped.